swear S2 /sweə $ swer/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense swore /swɔː $ swɔːr/, past participle sworn /swɔːn $ swɔːrn/)
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ swear ; noun : ↑ swearing ; adjective : ↑ sworn ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: swerian ]
1 . OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE [intransitive] to use rude and offensive language:
Don’t swear in front of the children.
swear at
He turned round and swore at me.
2 . PROMISE [transitive] to promise that you will do something
swear (that)
Victor swore he would get his revenge.
swear to do something
Mona swore never to return home.
Do you swear on your honour (=promise very strongly) that you will never tell anyone?
3 . STATE THE TRUTH [intransitive and transitive] informal to say very strongly that what you are saying is true:
I never touched your purse, I swear!
swear (that)
He says he was there all the time, but I swear I never saw him.
swear blind British English (=say very strongly)
She swore blind that she had never seen him before.
I never touched her, I swear to God.
I think it was about ten o'clock when we left, but I couldn’t swear to it (=I am not certain) .
4 . somebody could have sworn (that) ... used to say that someone was sure about something but now they think they were wrong:
I could have sworn I had my keys.
5 . PUBLIC PROMISE [intransitive and transitive] to make a public official promise, especially in a court of law
swear on
Witnesses have to swear on the Bible.
Remember that you have sworn an oath and so must tell the truth.
Presidents must swear allegiance to the US constitution.
6 . swear somebody to secrecy/silence to make someone promise not to tell anyone what you have told them
—swearing noun [uncountable] :
He was cautioned for swearing.
lots of shouting and swearing
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THESAURUS
▪ promise to tell someone that you will definitely do something, or that something will happen:
He promised to give the book back.
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The organisers have promised that this year’s event will take place.
▪ swear to make a very serious and sincere promise, for example in a law court:
He had sworn to tell the truth.
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I would never do that, I swear.
▪ give somebody your word especially spoken to promise sincerely that you will do something or that something is true – often used when you are trying to persuade someone that they can trust you:
I give you my word that your money is safe with me.
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I’ll let you go out tonight if you give me your word that you’ll be home by 11.
▪ vow to make a very serious promise, often to yourself:
She vowed that she would never drink alcohol again.
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They vowed to carry on their campaign for justice.
▪ assure to promise someone that something will happen or that something is true, in order to try to make them feel less worried:
Police have assured the public that they are doing everything they can to find the killer.
▪ guarantee to promise that you will make sure that something will definitely happen, so that there is no question of it not happening:
I guarantee that you will have the documents by tomorrow.
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How can you guarantee that this won’t happen again?
▪ pledge to promise publicly or officially that you will do something, for example to give help or money:
The government has pledged to increase overseas aid to $4 billion over the next five years.
▪ undertake formal to make an official or legal promise to do something:
The government undertook to keep price increases to a minimum.
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The two sides undertook to respect each other’s territory.
▪ commit to something formal to make a firm and definite promise to do something important, which will affect you for a long time and which could result in serious effects if you fail:
Bobby felt unready to commit to a romantic relationship.
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A group of 11 companies has committed to developing a new passenger plane.
swear by something phrasal verb informal
to have great confidence in how good or effective something is:
He swears by vitamin C pills.
swear somebody ↔ in phrasal verb [usually passive]
if someone with a new public job or position is sworn in, they make an official promise to do their duty well:
The new governor will be sworn in next week.
The jury have not yet been sworn in.